Brain training Lumosity
Which? Archive
This article, Brain training, was last updated on 25 February 2009 and is now out of date and held in our online archive for reference. Explore our latest Technology articles.
What it is: Online training system
Price: £4.99 a month
From: Luminos Labs
What the company says
‘Fundamental cognitive abilities can be improved with appropriate training, and the exercises in the Lumosity brain training program are designed to stimulate the neuroplasticity that leads to improved cognitive ability and a healthier brain. People who train with Lumosity improve memory, attention, processing speed and cognitive control.’
The evidence
The study we were sent compared the memory and attention skills of 14 people who trained for five weeks on the Lumosity exercises with a ‘control group’ of nine people who did not. Both improved their memory scores, but the group using Lumosity improved significantly. They also improved attention scores, but the control group’s attention apparently got worse.
Our experts say
Adrian Owen said that the study contained basic errors. ‘The control group was less than two-thirds the size of the trained group, so it’s statistically and therefore scientifically incorrect to conclude that
one improved more than the other.’
And while one group used Lumosity, the other did nothing. So it’s impossible to be sure that any form of computer use, such as surfing the internet, wouldn’t have lead to similar effects. Our experts also disputed the claim that the tasks people did before and after training to check for improvement, were different from exercises they did while training. Our experts said the tasks were similar enough to mean the improvement could be interpreted as simply the effects of practising.
Chris Bird said: ‘This does not mean that improvements on the tasks will lead to improvements in day-to-day living, and it does certainly not mean your brain will have been made healthier by the process.’
None of the research has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Which? member says
Mark Gosling, 48, said: ‘I liked the variety and nature of the games available, but unlike Brain Training on the Nintendo DS you can’t be spontaneous with it as you have to boot up the PC. I didn’t enjoy it enough to go back to it after the trial – let alone day after day.’
